A Grade - St Kilda Cycling Club Crits @ Port Melbourne
I love criterium racing. It’s short, fast and most importantly, aggressive!!!
Today at St Kilda Cycling Clubs usual Sunday morning crit at Port Melbourne, I was faced with some strong competition in a large field of around 60+ A Grade riders.
The 1 hour + 3 lap race is long enough to break the field apart, but today the bunch stayed together for an action packed sprint finish.
The start of the race saw many small attacks roll off the front of the bunch and I positioned myself well enough to feature in a few of them.
Staying up front is the key to success in crit races because, if you get caught in a crash or miss a break when you’re riding at the back of the bunch, your race is over. When you’re up the front, you have more chance of staying away from crashes and you’re also more likely to get yourself in a breakaway.
With 30 minutes already gone, everyone was still together with the occasional break-away off the front only lasting a few laps before being pulled back into the bunch.
Nearing the end of the race, positioning was again, very critical. Tactically, I learn from every race and it great to analyse your race after the finish and workout what you did right and wrong.
With 15 minutes to go, I knew it was going to be a sprint finish so I was having my last few sips from the bottle and my last Torq Nutrition Gel to provide me with the energy I needed to get home.
My CUBE HPC Road Bike with full SRAM Red, was running smooth and when going at 50km/hr side by side fellow riders, let’s just say the adrenaline was definitely there.
My goal was to hit the last corner FIRST. Once again, approaching the finish, 55km/hr+ into the last corner I tried to make a move up the inside but got boxed in and came out 5th. I made up 1 place to finish 4th at the finish line. A good result, but not good enough for me. I didn’t try hard enough at the last corner to come out first.
A nice roll out with dad along Beach Road to Lunar Park and back capped off a great Sunday morning of racing. My head is definitely up, but I want another win. Consistency is great, can’t remember the last time I finished outside the top 6 in these big A grade Melbourne club races, but I want that next win.
A win at club racing yesterday back home and a 4th today down with the big boys in Melbourne has capped off a near perfect weekend of racing.
Big thanks to sponsors Torq Nutrition, Monza Imports and SRAM, your products are simply the best. To my coach Matt Wallace and my family and friends for the support you all provide me throughout every day, Thank you very much.
Off to Adelaide on Wednesday to compete with my Torq Nutrition MTB Team at the 2012 Cross-Country MTB National Championships where I’m hoping for a solid result back on the dirt.
Keep posted for my next race report,
Ride safe,
Brenton
Today at St Kilda Cycling Clubs usual Sunday morning crit at Port Melbourne, I was faced with some strong competition in a large field of around 60+ A Grade riders.
The 1 hour + 3 lap race is long enough to break the field apart, but today the bunch stayed together for an action packed sprint finish.
The start of the race saw many small attacks roll off the front of the bunch and I positioned myself well enough to feature in a few of them.
Staying up front is the key to success in crit races because, if you get caught in a crash or miss a break when you’re riding at the back of the bunch, your race is over. When you’re up the front, you have more chance of staying away from crashes and you’re also more likely to get yourself in a breakaway.
With 30 minutes already gone, everyone was still together with the occasional break-away off the front only lasting a few laps before being pulled back into the bunch.
Nearing the end of the race, positioning was again, very critical. Tactically, I learn from every race and it great to analyse your race after the finish and workout what you did right and wrong.
With 15 minutes to go, I knew it was going to be a sprint finish so I was having my last few sips from the bottle and my last Torq Nutrition Gel to provide me with the energy I needed to get home.
My CUBE HPC Road Bike with full SRAM Red, was running smooth and when going at 50km/hr side by side fellow riders, let’s just say the adrenaline was definitely there.
My goal was to hit the last corner FIRST. Once again, approaching the finish, 55km/hr+ into the last corner I tried to make a move up the inside but got boxed in and came out 5th. I made up 1 place to finish 4th at the finish line. A good result, but not good enough for me. I didn’t try hard enough at the last corner to come out first.
A nice roll out with dad along Beach Road to Lunar Park and back capped off a great Sunday morning of racing. My head is definitely up, but I want another win. Consistency is great, can’t remember the last time I finished outside the top 6 in these big A grade Melbourne club races, but I want that next win.
A win at club racing yesterday back home and a 4th today down with the big boys in Melbourne has capped off a near perfect weekend of racing.
Big thanks to sponsors Torq Nutrition, Monza Imports and SRAM, your products are simply the best. To my coach Matt Wallace and my family and friends for the support you all provide me throughout every day, Thank you very much.
Off to Adelaide on Wednesday to compete with my Torq Nutrition MTB Team at the 2012 Cross-Country MTB National Championships where I’m hoping for a solid result back on the dirt.
Keep posted for my next race report,
Ride safe,
Brenton
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